VIDEO: Why high housing costs could unify America
Click to watch.
I appeared on CBS network this weekend -- from Oklahoma City, a place that's often mentioned in the list of cool, new cities -- to talk about how internal migration might change America's political map. Here's an excerpt of the story referenced in the piece. Or, just watch the video.
Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman thinks this trend could be the key to healing some of the political divisions roiling America’s politics.
“The way you depolarize the country isn’t with political rhetoric. It’s with a moving van,” said Kelman, who lives in Seattle. “I know people who’ve never met someone who voted for Trump. (They are) imaginary creatures. Anyone we imagine, we can imagine a monster. But when you meet a conservative, or you meet a liberal, you immediately moderate your views.”
Most of the time — by a ratio of nearly 8 to 1 — a Blue-stater moved into a Red state rather than the other way around during the past twelve months, Redfin said. The trend seems to have some staying power, too. Refin’s analysis of county-to-county migration data published by the U.S. Census says that from 2011 to 2015, over 50 percent more migrants moved from Blue to Red counties rather than the other way around.
“Coastal markets are the epicenter of the U.S. home affordability crisis,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM. “We do see strong evidence of migration from higher-priced blue states (and) counties to lower-priced red states (and) counties.”